HB 0789 2003
1	CHAMBER ACTION
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6	The Committee on Transportation recommends the following:
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8	Committee Substitute
9	Remove the entire bill and insert:
10	A bill to be entitled
11	An act relating to specialty license plates; amending ss.
12	320.08056 and 320.08058, F.S.; creating the Stop Heart
13	Disease license plate; providing for distribution to the
14	Florida Heart Research Foundation, Inc., of annual use
15	fees received from the sale of such plates; providing an
16	effective date.
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18	WHEREAS, heart disease is the leading cause of death and
19	disability in this country and in the State of Florida, claiming
20	the lives of more than 2,600 Americans every day, an average of
21	one death every 33 seconds, and cardiovascular disease accounts
22	for over 40 percent of all deaths, claiming more lives each year
23	than the next seven leading causes of death combined, and
24	WHEREAS, more than 61 million Americans suffer from
25	cardiovascular disease, including high blood pressure, coronary
26	heart disease, stroke, congestive heart failure, and other
27	conditions, and
28	WHEREAS, 25 percent of males and 38 percent of females who
29	experience a heart attack die within 1 year, and
30	WHEREAS, 50 percent of men and 63 percent of women who die
31	of sudden cardiac death experience no previous symptoms of
32	coronary heart disease, and
33	WHEREAS, cardiovascular disease takes an astonishing toll
34	on the economy through health care costs, lost work days, and
35	lowered productivity, which costs are estimated to reach $330
36	billion in 2002, and
37	WHEREAS, almost 20 percent of all Social Security
38	disability payments are made to disabled Americans with heart
39	disease, and
40	WHEREAS, men and women are at equal risk for cardiovascular
41	disease and are also affected as husbands, wives, fathers,
42	mothers, brothers, sisters, children, and friends of people
43	suffering from cardiovascular disease, and
44	WHEREAS, in Florida, there will be over 65,000 deaths per
45	year from cardiovascular disease, and hospitalization costs to
46	care for Floridians with cardiovascular disease will top $4.4
47	billion per year, and
48	WHEREAS, the only hope of ending this disease is through
49	research aimed at discovering its cause, its cure, and, most
50	importantly, its prevention, and
51	WHEREAS, the Florida Heart Research Foundation, Inc., was
52	developed for cardiovascular research, education, and prevention
53	programs throughout the State of Florida, NOW, THEREFORE,
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55	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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57	Section 1. Paragraph (mm) is added to subsection (4) of
58	section 320.08056, Florida Statutes, to read:
59	320.08056 Specialty license plates.--
60	(4) The following license plate annual use fees shall be
61	collected for the appropriate specialty license plates:
62	(mm) Stop Heart Disease license plate, $25.
63	Section 2. Subsection (39) is added to section 320.08058,
64	Florida Statutes, to read:
65	320.08058 Specialty license plates.--
66	(39) STOP HEART DISEASE LICENSE PLATES.--
67	(a) The department shall develop a Stop Heart Disease
68	license plate as provided in this section. Stop Heart Disease
69	license plates must bear the colors and design approved by the
70	department. The plate shall be designed to include a red, white,
71	and blue background with a slanted heart shape in the middle of
72	the plate. The word "Florida" shall appear at the top of the
73	plate in yellow outlined in black, and the words "Stop Heart
74	Disease" shall appear at the bottom of the plate in yellow.
75	(b) The department shall remit the proceeds of the annual
76	use fee to the Florida Heart Research Foundation, Inc. The first
77	$80,000 of the use fee given to the Florida Heart Research
78	Foundation, Inc., shall be used to pay startup costs, including
79	costs incurred developing and issuing the plates. Thereafter,
80	the Florida Heart Research Foundation, Inc., shall provide for a
81	peer review grant solicitation and award process to distribute
82	fees for cardiovascular disease research, education, and
83	prevention within the state and shall make the funds available
84	for any one or more of the following:
85	1. Quality research to pursue top quality cardiovascular
86	research that will further understanding of heart disease and
87	its cause, treatment, cure, and prevention. Accepted projects
88	must conform to the highest standards of scientific research, be
89	efficiently organized, and report updates continually to ensure
90	research credibility and excellence.
91	2. Heart disease prevention programs to provide
92	cardiovascular screenings to state residents.
93	3. Educational programs to offer educational programs,
94	literature, seminars, or speakers for both clinicians and lay
95	people so that the latest risk factors, technologies,
96	treatments, methodologies, protocols, and preventive measures
97	are well known and used in the state.
98	(c) In the first year in which the plate is issued, no
99	more than 25 percent of the fees collected may be used for
100	administrative costs directly associated with the operation of
101	the Florida Heart Research Foundation, Inc., and marketing and
102	promotion of the Stop Heart Disease license plate. In the second
103	and subsequent years in which the plate is sold, no more than 20
104	percent of the fees collected may be used for administrative
105	costs directly associated with the operation of the Florida
106	Heart Research Foundation, Inc., and marketing and promotion of
107	the Stop Heart Disease license plate.
108	Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2003.